Brad Lord chased in the first inning vs. Mets

Lord returns to Washington’s pitching mix after spending the last month on the injured list with side tightness. The 26-year-old has mostly operated as a multi-inning long reliever this season, posting a respectable 3.88 ERA across 58 innings of work. He can be safely ignored for fantasy purposes.

Lord has been shelved since the second week of July due to tightness in his left side. He’s only expected to need a couple of tune-ups in the minors before he’s ready to rejoin the Nationals’ bullpen.

The 26-year-old hurler was torched for six runs with two outs in the ninth inning on Tuesday against the Phillies and he appears to have injured more than his ERA in the process. He’ll miss at least a week on both sides of the All-Star break as he recovers from the side issue. A corresponding move will be made prior to Friday’s contest.

The Nats were up 5-3 after seven tonight, but Richard Lovelady and Clayton Beeter combined to give up three runs in the eighth. All of the runs were charged to Lovelady, but the big blow was JT Realmuto’s three-run double off Beeter, who was charged with a blown save tonight after earning a save Monday. Since Beeter was pitching for the third time in four days, he wasn’t a candidate to come back out after the Nationals reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the eighth. Instead, Lord, typically a middle reliever, was handed an 8-6 lead. He struck out Edmundo Sosa and Justin Crawford to start the ninth and then gave up five straight hits, two of which were homers. After the next batter walked, Lord departed, and Paxton Schultz came in and gave up two more runs before finally finishing the inning. it’s the first real blemish of the year for Lord, who hadn’t previously been brought in with a lead in the ninth. He had been 5-0 with one two-inning save, four holds and no blown saves. His ERA jumped from 2.29 to 3.31. Beeter probably remains the favorite for saves in D.C., but since he’ll be unavailable Wednesday, perhaps Gus Varland could close.

We have no idea who is going to get the next save for the Nationals. This one was a bit odd with Lord coming in for the eighth in a three-run game before two insurance runs were tacked on the board in the bottom of the inning. Still, he stayed on for the ninth and now the last seven converted Nationals saves have gone to six different pitchers.

Lord had to be pretty bummed to be tossed back into the pen, given that he was far more valuable last season that any of the Nationals’ other pitching holdovers. Still, it is questionable whether he really has the arm to survive as a starter for the long haul. Working two or three innings at a time in relief might prove to be his best role, and he could sneak in some saves in a wide-open Nationals pen.

Lord struck out two batters on the afternoon and didn’t allow a base on balls. The Marlins got to him in the first inning with a run-scoring triple from Christopher Morel then added on another in the second on an RBI double off the bat of Daniel Johnson. Lord got five whiffs on 43 pitches on the day, registering a CSW of 21 percent. He’s a favorite to secure a spot in the team’s Opening Day rotation, but doesn’t offer much upside for fantasy purposes.

The 25-year-old hurler also issued a pair of walks in the ballgame while punching out four opposing hitters. All of the damage done against him came via the long ball, with Miguel Vargas crushing a two-run shot in the first inning, Brooks Baldwin adding a solo shot in the fourth and Dominic Fletcher launching a two-run blast in the fourth. Lord got nine whiffs on 80 pitches on the afternoon, posting a CSW of 26 percent. He finishes the 2025 season with an uninspiring 5-10 record, 4.34 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and a 108/43 K/BB ratio across 130 2/3 innings in 48 appearances (19 starts). He’ll probably have to battle for a spot in the Nationals’ rotation to open the 2026 campaign.

The 25-year-old hurler struck out four batters on the night while allowing only one base on balls. All of the damage done against him came via the long ball as Michael Harris II swatted a solo homer in the fifth inning and Ronald Acuña Jr. added a go-ahead blast in the sixth inning. Lord got seven whiffs on 96 pitches on the night — six on his fastball — while posting a CSW of 22 percent. He finishes the season with a 5-9 record, 4.12 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and a 104/41 K/BB ratio across 126 2/3 innings in 47 appearances (18 starts).

Gore won’t make a final start Sunday after giving up four runs in two innings against the Braves on Monday. The Nationals could just use Brad Lord, tonight’s schedule starter, on four days’ rest then. Gore, who missed two starts at the beginning of the month with shoulder tendinitis, ends the year 5-15 with a 4.17 ERA. That doesn’t look like much now, but he did make the All-Star team before fading, and his 27.2% strikeout rate is a new high.